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Conan (Earth-616)
| CurrentAlias = Conan of Cimmeria | CurrentAliasRef = | Aliases = "King Conan, Monarch of Aquilonia, Master of Poitain from the Alimane to the Khoratas, Protector of the Baronies of the Westermarck and of Thandara, Guarantor of the Bossonian Marches and of Gunderland, Overlord of...", "Conan, Sovereign of Aquilonia, Overlord of Poitain, Protector of the Westermarck, Master of the Bossonian Marches..." / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} ---- Conan Corim-Son, Conan the Cimmerian, Conan, the Cimmerian, Conan of Cimmeria, / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} Conan of the North, Conan the Northron, Conan the Zuagir, Conan of Aquilonia, / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} Conan of the Isles; / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} possibly Conan of Zothique ---- Conan the Conqueror, Conan the Conquerer, Conan the Destroyer, Conan of the Reavers, Conan the Reaver, Conan of the Blue Eyes, Conan, the Manhunter, Conan the Renegade, Conan the Warrior, Conan the Avenger, Conan the Slayer, Conan the Throat-Slitter, Conan the Liberator, "King of Kings", / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} "Toppler of Empires", / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} The Dragon Slayer, Kukulcan ---- Amra, Atalu, Co-Nan ---- Kalna, Kalna-Kafir; Presented himself as "Rasirith", "Shirkuh, late of Zamora", "Ishbak", Thun'Da of the Snowmane | EditorialNames = Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Adventurer, Conan the Savage, Conan Lord of the Spiders, Conan the King, King Conan, Conan the Punisher, the Usurper | Identity = No Dual | Affiliation = Formerly Aquilonian Empire (King); (captain), of Captain Murilo,wi Queen Tananda's royal guard (captain), , Wulfhere's, Niord's and Njal bands of Aesir, unnamed army (scout), general and trainer of , trainer in the Brythunian Union's , , Khauran's guards, captain in Malthom's mercenaries, , captain in the , mercenary in the , Makkalet's forces, Yezdigerd's Turanian forces, Queen Aala (Kyrie), guards of Zahmahn, , mercenary for the Aesir, ; , Lady Alophic's Army , General of the , slave of the Wheel, mercenary for Lepidus' rebel legion, general for the mercenary , leader of a group of bounty hunters, small force to retrieve proof of Imperator Addelaus's death, vice-commander of Bêlit's / first mate of the Tigress, : Captain of Captain Bor'aqh Sharaq's crew, second mate in Cap'n Gonzago's crew of the Hawk, Captain of a crew in the Vanir Isles, Ally of Jenna, Burgun, Fafnir, Red Sonja; | Relatives = Drogin (paternal grandfather, deceased); Corum (grandfather); Connacht (grandfather, deceased); Corin (father, deceased); Greshan / Gudrun (mother, deceased); Zenobia (wife, deceased); Valeria (wife under Ichiribu law) Siobhan (sister); unnamed sisters (deceased); unnamed brothers (deceased); Aniki (possible brother); Humber (cousin); unnamed brother-in-law (deceased); unnamed nephews and/or nieces (deceased); Unnamed symbiote ---- unborn child by Merya (deceased before term); Conobar (son with Ursla, deceased); Râ Morgana (daughter with a high priestess); Aryal (presumed daughter with Tanya the Fox, deceased); Conn (son with Zenobia); Kang Sho (son with Kang Lou-Dze); Taurus (son with Zenobia); Radegund (daughter with Zenobia); unnamed child with Zenobia | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Formerly Aquilonia, mobile, Black Kingdoms, Western Ocean | Gender = Male | Height = 6'4" | Height2 = | Weight = 265 lbs. (120 kg.) | Weight2 = | Eyes = Blue | Eyes2 = | Hair = Black | UnusualFeatures = | Citizenship = Cimmerian, Aquilonian | MaritalStatus = Widowed | Occupation = Formerly king of Aquilonia, conqueror, war chief of the , king of Bal-Sagoth; formerly briefly king of Attalus in the Valley of Iskander, of Aquiloria on Earth-8313 and of the valley ---- General and scout in the , general and trainer of , general of the army of the Valley of Iskander, captain of the guard of the valley, of Khauran's guards, of Zahmahn's guards, of Queen Tananda's royal guard (captain); captain of the , commander of , captain in Malthom's mercenaries, chief of the ; ---- barbarian, mercenary, bodyguard, pirate, pirate captain, first mate, and second mate, gladiator, bounty hunter, soldier in the , thief, warrior, treasure looter, adventurer, slave | Education = Sword-to-sword and hand-to-hand combat | Origin = Human | PlaceOfBirth = Unnamed battlefield, Cimmeria | Creators = Robert E. Howard; Roy Thomas; Barry Smith | First = Conan the Barbarian #1 | Last = | Quotation = Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet. | Speaker = The Nemedian Chronicles | Overview = Conan was born in Cimmeria, a northern kingdom of barbarians, among the Snowhawk tribe. All of his chronicled adventures take place in the Hyborian Age. At the age of fifteen, Conan fought in the Battle of Venarium. After this, Conan, went on several adventures as chronicled in the The Nemedian Chronicles, and eventually came to be the king of Aquilonia, one of the most powerful kingdoms of the Hyborian age. He battled for, with, and/or against numerous factions (including most of the nations of the Hyborian world), he fought alongside other adventurers thieves and pirates such as Bêlit and the Black Corsairs, the Kozaki and the Vilayet Pirates, Juma, Red Sonja, the Zuagirs, the Red Brotherhood, Zula, Fafnir, among many ohers. He battled numerous sorcerors (amng them the Stygian wizard Thoth-Amon), monsters, gods and demons (including some of the Old Ones), and was helped as well by many of those, including Mitra. After many years of ruling Aquilonia, Conan abdicated in favor of his son, Conn, and departed across the Western Ocean to investigate mysterious forces which menaced Aquilonia, and discover new lands to explore, such as Antillia, / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} the isle of Na'at, Mayapan, and possibly Zothique. His ultimate fate is not recorded. | HistoryText = Origin and youth Conan was born on a battlefield, as his father Corin and his tribesmen repelled a horde of Vanaheim raiders. Their clan claimed an area in the northwest of Cimmeria. His paternal grandfather was a member of a southern tribe who fled his people due to a blood feud, and joined the people of the north after long wanderings, where he raised sons then grandsons. His other grandfather, Corum, was a warrior of his tribe, and fought the Raven Picts alongside Jongalt and the outlander Garrad. Like all boys of Cimmeria, he was trained as a warrior from birth, but Conan possess both skills at arms and strength way over the hardiest of his race. Drogin taught Conan to hunt, to wield axe and blade and many other things, but also told him tales of his youth, of his raids into the Hyborian kingdoms and of the wonders outside of Cimmeria. Conan was proud of him, for despite being too old for war, he was respected and feared by all others. When Conan was in his twelfth year, during the fourteenth of Azulon commemorative feast of the Cimmerians' victory over the Vanir War Chieftain Ernok the Slayer (and the apparent protection against the Vanir that the victory brought them), Conan was provoked to go into the forest by Brule who told him the place was haunted by Ernok's ghost. There, he stumbled upon two Vanir scouts, Gurneg and Naro. Conan lured Naro over frozen Elk Lake where the Vanir's foot fell through the glass, allowing Conan to steal his dagger and slew him. He then lured Gurneg into the lair of Dogar the Cave Bear and his mate, who devoured the Vanir. Returning to his village, his fellow villagers didn't believed him, until Conan unsheathed the Vanir dagger to threaten and mock Brule. The strongest and wildest boy of the village, Conan protected Laynnen, a sickly and "different" child, from which he heard magical songs and learned that to be gentle of spirit wouldn't make him less a man. He also shared his childhood with Tem, and with Gharn of Cella, with whom he grew to manhood, breaking hearts and emptying purses on the way. Conan saved Gharn from many "spear enforced" weddings, while Gharn saved Conan from a Pict, and both were involved in a bar room brawl. During rare times of peace, and on trading missions, he visited Venarium, the Aquilonian outpost in Cimmeria, manned by Aquilonian Army soldiers and their allies from Gunderland. There he met Tamera and his Gunderman lover Gaeric. ... Drogin trained and disciplined Conan into his fourteenth year. When Drogin finally went away to die, Conan followed him up to the Eiglophian Mountains (the border with Vanaheim and Aesgaard) and was torn apart as Drogin disappeared in the snowy wastes. Rite of passage On his fifteenth birthday, in mid-winter, he was sent into the Wooded Hills with only a sword and a bear-skin, as a rite of passage. He slew three wolves to steal their kill (a baby deer) and eat it, he slept under the snow under the cover of a fallen log. Rather than returning to his tribe as he could had, he decided to challenge himself by searching the high hills bordering his home, forbidden even to his tribe's warriors. There he met two Great White Bears and Ursla the bear-priestess, who brought him to her home, seduced him and mated with him, giving later birth to his first son, Conobar. Returning to his tribe where the elders had declared his dead, they refused to believe his tale until he showed them a brooch she had given to him. He was then greeted by his tribesmen, who vowed to take him south with them, to march on Venarium, an Aquilonian outpost. ... Battle of Venarium During the "Battle of Venarium", the Cimmerians attacked the camp of Venarium. During that battle, Jim O'Brien and Eleonor Rand, both present in Dagon's Cave in the 20th-century, somehow experienced the event from respectively Conan's and Tamera's perspectives. Conan allegedly received his baptism of blood there, and was the first to vault the stockade walls (or at least one of the first). ... Gunderman Burgun tried to duel Conan but was unable to reach him. He also encountered Tamera and Gaeric. As Gaeric charged him, intending to protect Tamera's retreat, Conan defeated him without drawing his sword, preventing himself from ending his opponent for some reason. He then pursued Tamera, trying (possibly from Jim O'Brien) to reassure her. Led into Dagon's cave, Conan/Jim was faced once again by Gaeric, while Tamera fled into the depths of the cave. Both Tamera and Gaeric were captured by the People of the Dark but were rescued by Conan, and the three ended up cooperating to survive the journey. Despite their efforts, Tamera and Gaeric seemingly perished. After the fell of Venarium, Conan became a hero of his tribe. He returned to his tribe, but later left south, without saying goodbye to Mala, his childhood love. Allegedly, it was the Lord of the Great Abyss Nuadens Argatlam of the Silver Hand, who brought Conan out of Cimmeria to crush evil in the world's west. A few inconsistencies exist in Conan's youth stories: * It is stated that Venarium was Conan's baptism of blood, 's recap}} 's recap}} 's recap}} although his first slaying occurred in his twelfth year, '' and killed at fourteenth. * ''Conan stated that he killed Gundermen invaders at fourteen years old. Adventurer From then, and for years, Conan assumed multiple occupations, including mercenary, '' treasure looter, thief, soldier'', '' bounty hunter, nomadic war chieftain, pirate captain, gladiator... Vanaheim, Aesgaard, Hyperborea, Brythunia Jarl's reavers Aesir party He joined a party of Aesir warriors as a mercenary, participating in raid against Vanaheim. He remained with that band for a few months. ... Beast-Men of Brutheim Becoming separated from his Aesir companions, while in Aesgaard, Conan was attacked by Gan-Torr, the Giant One, one of the Beast-Men, whom he slew. He was then captured by Moira (the human favorite of King Gha-Kree of Brutheim), Zha-Gorr and another of Gan-Torr's comrade of the Brutorian Guard. Brought to Brutheim as a slave, Conan defied his masters and was to be killed in the games. Awaking the slaves' Chief Thrall Kiord's desire for freedom, he caused the slaves' rebellion. All of the Beast-Men were either killed or fled the city. Conan crowned dead Kiord as the king of the former slaves. Captive of the Vanir Afterwards, trying to reach back Cimmeria, he was surrounded and captured by a Vanir war-party, and witnessED the Western Ocean for the first time. Njal's Aesir war-party He then joined a band of Aesgaard raiders who were harrying the borders of Hyperborea on a mission of rescue and revenge. ... Captive and fugitive of the Hyperboreans At about age seventeen, he was eventually captured by Hyperboreans. He eventually slew his Hyperborean overseer and managed to evade his trackers, but was trailed by a pack of starving wolves for two days. Near the border of Brythhunia, Conan was forced to go into a cave to evade the wolves, who curriously refused to enter it. Exploring the cave, he found glyphs carved in the stone, and finally stumbled into a large chamber, where he found the Thing in the Crypt, a giant skeleton. Conan took the great sword lying on the skeleton, but the thing awoke. Unable to kill something already dead, Conan destroyed the monster by throwing him in a fire. Exiting the cave, where the wolves had left. He then kept his way southward. That sword, whom Conan hypothesized could have used by King Kull himself to slay the Serpent-Men of Valusia in Atlantean days, strange if unmaical, was lost when Conan was captured by another group of Hyperboreans, not far from the borders of Brythunia. One of the Hyperborean, a blond, used to whip Conan. Conan killed a guard and once again escaped. He kept his chains, swearing to remove them only when he would have slain the blond savage. While still in Hyperborea, he met with the Grim Grey God, Borri himself, who informed Conan of the war with Brythunia, sumoned before Conan the Choosers of the Slains, and prophetized to COnan that soon he would witness the passings o kings, and of "more than kings". Brythunia Conan then departed and met with the Brythunian captain Dunlang who took him to his camp to join the Brythunians against the Hyperboreans. Conan was introduced to King Brian of Brythunia. Conan was also bitter that the King of Brythunia stayed in his tent for the battle while his men would fight for him. Kormlada, queen of Hyperborea and wife to King Tomar, and was the paramour of Malachi, commander of the Brythunian Cavalry. Malachi was offered by Tomar to hold his horsemen in the battlefield. Kormdala also intended to slay Tomar and instate Malachi as her puppet king. When, under Dunlang's orders, Conan came to Malachi during the battle to have his horsemen charge as the Hyperboreans were having the upper and, Malachi refused, and both Conan and Dunlang understood that they were betrayed. Dunlang instants later, causing COnan to enter a fury that turn the tide of the battle in the Brythunians'favor.This turn ofevent urged Tomar to find Brian, intending to slay him himself. Meanwhile, the battle ended, Conan silently pursued the panicking Malachi, abandoned by his horsemen, and slew him. Tomar managed to infiltrate Brian's camp, and the kings slew each other. Conan arrived instants later, and saw the Choosers of the Slain come to father the souls fallen warriors for the last time, fulfilling the prophecy of Borri as his last worshiper, Tomar had died. ... Zamora, Aquiloria, Nemedia, Corinthia and Koth Still about the age of seventeen ... Arriving in Arenjun, Conan heard a lot about the Elephant Tower. One night, at an inn of the Maul, he overheard a Kothian wench-stealer joke about the Elephant Tower, and asked him about its secret. As the assembly talked about the tower's defenses and the impossibility of infiltrating it, Conan hinted that anyone could, with the right amoung of courage, causing the ire of the rogues present. The yattacked him but a swirl of words dimed the flame of the den's only candle, ultimately ending it. When the candle was relighted, Conan had killed the Kothian and fled. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... It was at that time that Aztrias told him about the Diadem of the Giant-Kings. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Bal-Sagoth, Hyrkania, Turan and Khitai ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Back at raiding Vanaheim During a pause in the wars, four winters after Conan left Cimmeria, Conan returned to see Mala whom he thought could be his woman, but found his village ravaged by a Vanir raid and Mala abducted. Buying a Vanir fisherman his boat, he pursued the raiders into the Isle of Swords, where Mala was about to be forcibly wed to Thorfel the Fair. She committed suicide rather than marrying or becoming his slave, and Conan attacked the Vanir to avenge her. Helped by a party of Picts led by Brogar (came to retrieve an idol of Brule, the Spear-Slayer, stolen by other picts then by the Vanir), he slaughtered the Vanir, killed Thorfel and retrieved Mala's body. Conan became part of Aesir raiding troops in Wulfhere's band. The group was decimated by Hymdul, whom Conan killed. After encountering Atali, daughter of the Frost Giant Ymir, he killed her brothers and attempted to rape her, but was taken in a snow tempest, and retrieved by Niord and his group. In the last month of his twentieth year, Conan led a crew of pirates and raided the far Vanir Isles. One of his mission was to abduct the virgin daughter of Vanir King Hrothar, to be wed to Hog Island Vanir Chief Varax, son of Cularn. To ensure her virginity, Conan had to isolate her from his crew. Soon, the ship was caught into a storm (possibly caused by the sons of Crom) and drifted northwards. For thre days, Conan manned the ship into the icy storm.Eventually, they were attacked a Kraken, who first swallowed T'Liko. The Kraken was stated to be S'Rotha Meer, God of the Ice Sea by the superstitious pirates. The Kraken returnedand killed Villardo, causing the pirates to intend on sacrificing the virgin girl as her blood was pure. Conan's refusal caused all pirates to attack him, save for Scrod, who prevented Tellerac from slaying the girl. All mutineers were killed by Conan, and their bodies thrown to the sea for the Kraken to feed. As the princess revealed she was not a virgin at all, Conan stopped his mission, and simply set sail to the spice ports of the south with the princess and Scrod. ... The love of adventure soon drew him south again, to Brythunia. ... Back to Turan ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ''Conan would later state that he killed the Demon of Dark Valley. Crimson Company ... Yusef and Tara ... Conan, Tara and Yusef finally arrived in Messantiain the morning, but found out the brewing war between Argos and Stygia had been averted, and there was no demand for mercenaries.onan was displeased, as he refused to returning at being a thief, nor wasn't interest in piracy (Yusef had proposed him to find such work by asking the shady merchant Publio), preferring to remain a soldier. As the king guards escorted their captain in the street and brutally pushed those in the way, Conan beat up the guards. To avoid being recognized after that deed, Conan had Yusef and Tara change clothes. While the two stayed at the Black Boar Inn, Conan went to shop for armor, and was captured on the way back by corrup guards who sent him to Publio. Publio sent him to "the master's man", a cloaked individual, for five dinaros. The guards were then to deliver Conan to the buyer's ship, but Conan managed to escape, and battled the guards and the crew of the ship. Blinded in the fight, Conan was forced to flee, evaded the guards, and was invited by Momratha in her shack. She showed him visions of being the master on a ship, of being crowned, nailed to a cross, and of the beautiful women he would cross path with. She then showed him the present at the Black Boar Inn where his companions slayed a king's captain before fleeing, and rushed to help them. Arriving at the inn, he was recognized for having struck the captain and having been talked to the two youths. The next day, he was judged by Ephemero Portus, the "maiming judge". As Conan refused to reveal their hiding place, the judge found him in contempt of court and intended to throw him in a dungeon until he would agree to talk. Conan consequently started maiming and slaying the guards, and killed the judge that was reaching for his dagger. He stole the high constable of Messantia's horse and fled to the port, where he intended to evade by sea. He leaped from his horse to the ''Agus'', the soon-to-depart ship of Tito, who he forced depart immediately to evade the guardsmen. Tito and the Argus As they fled, Tito immediately proposed peace with Conan, who told him his story. Tito finally welcomed him aboard, having no love for the courts, and appreciating the value for a warrior aboard. The ship passed by the coast of Shem, Khemi in Stygia, and crossed the path of a serpent-prowned gondola with aboard beautiful, dusk" women calling out to the sailors, posing and posturing brazenly. As they arrived at the Kushite village with whom Tito was in trade, they found only bodies and ruins. Tito presumed that it was the work of the Shemite Bêlit, Queen of the Black Coast, and of her Black Corsairs. The next day, the Argus was taken in chase by Bêlit's ship, the Tigress, and finally boarded. Tito and his crew were all slain. Conan fought the Blacks Corsairs and was saved from death by Bêlit who ordered her men to stand down. She put him in combat with Odongo (who had slain Tito) to test him. Odongo defeated Odongo, and Bêlit took for her mate. Black Corsairs ... ... Kush ... Messantia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Stygia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Shem ... ... ... ... Zula then departed their company, followed by Yarunga, Lasanga and Ajonga, and a few other Black Corsairs. Bêlit asked Conan if he had wished to go too, as it had been three years since he had roamed the Hyborian lands, but Conan had no desire to leave for now. They then headed towards the Black Coast. Black Coast and Abombi Passing by the village of the Matubis, they found only ruins. In the next days, they witnessed same destruction on many villages, and even one without a single damage but totally empty of people, and finally arrived to the village of the faithful Watambi. ... ... ... ... ... ... Mutiny in the Silver Isles On a Stygian merchant ship the Tigress boarded, Conan stopped the captain from slaingy a snow-white skinned wench that was held captive, and appeared to be the only bounty on the ship. To the Black Corsairs, the girl was semingly seen as a demon. The ship returned to the Silver Isles with the girl, on Conan's suggestion as he had noticed that the girl's necklace contained gems that weren't native of Stygia and that she could lead them to more gems as such. When they arrived to the Silver Isles, the Black Corsairs were attacked by the Bird-Riders, commanded by Ghomli who had set himself as the new master of the Isles of Silver. As Ghomli stroke Bêlit, Conan engaged him, trigering a challenge with Conan as Bêlit's chosen to oppose the challenger Ghomli. Conan was beaten and appeared to be killed his vitals being checked both by N'yaga (who forced down Conan's throat an herb that gave him the semblance of death), and by Ghomli's witch-man Musa. Ghomli then inteded to marry Bêlit to assert his rule, and start an holy war by building a fleet and forced the whole world to pay him tribute. Awakening from his apparent death, he slew Sajulo and his brother, who came by Conan's grave to see if Conan hadn't any gems or coins on him when he was burried. He then came back to the village, tried to slew Ghomli. Conan slew Musa, trying to strick Ghomli but failing due to his recent poisons and antidotes consumption, and the Black Corsairs fled. The Frozen Land, Leng and the Mountains of Madness Ghomli soon pursued them aboard a Stygian ship captured some time before, both to destroy his ennemies and to get hold ofn the possible treasures of the Frozen Land. The Tigress went south, causing the snow-skinned girl to panic and scream the words "Naka-Ti" and "Tekeli-Li. Conan decided then to kall her "Tekeli-Li". Days passing by, Conan helped "Tekeli-Li" learn his language, and also dealt with Bêlit's jealousy. Days later, the Tigress finally came by Frozen Land. Setting foot on the continent to evade Ghomli, Conan, Bêlit and the Black Corsairs, guided by "Tekeli-Li", entered the country, towards Leng, and eventually witnessed the might of the Mountains of Madness. Descending into the underground kindgom of Tekeli-Li, they were captured by her people and sent to their city. There, they witnessed graven murals that told them of the star-headed elder race of Old Ones that had lived in the city. They were taken before the ruler of Leng, the daughter of "Tekeli", in fact named Ta-No. The queen sentenced all of the Corsairs to death but Ta-No pretended that Conan was her mate, saving him. As Bêlit cursed Conan, he and Ta-No went to her bedroom, where Ta-No informed Conan that his comrades were going to be sacrificed in a few moments only (he had thought to have time to prepare their escape). At the same moments, Conan spread chaos into the place where the sacrifice was going to happen, and Ghomli entered the scene, killing the queen. He also tried to slay Ta-No but Conan protected her. Fleeing the fighting, the Black Corairs found another graven mural describing the end of the "star-heads", killed by their servants, the Shoggoths. The Black Corsairs also found the searched-for jewels, but used them as distraction to charge them. At that moment, a Shoggoth revealed himself and decimated the black warriors, until Conan managed to cause a massive cave-in over the monster. Hours later, the survivors finally exited the mountain. Ghomli assaulted Conan, but Ta-No claimed the fight to avenge her mother. Ghomli pushed Ta-No to her death, but was himself hurled down the mountain by Conan. City of the Winged One Sailing north, Bêlit decided to go to the venomous stream known as the River Zarkheba, as the interrogation of a Stygian sailor, then her dreams had shown her giant towers there, which could contain treasure. The Tigress went up the Zarkheba. The ship was attacked by a gigantic serpent who took a one of the corsair before being repelled by Conan. Despite N'yaga's warnings, Bêlit decided to press on, and finally arrived into the ruins of the City of the Winged One, whom all on deck saw a glimpse. Bêlit had a four Corsairs pillage the Temple of the Old Ones, trigerring a trap that killed those. The altar indeed hid countless riches. While the corsairs were away, the winged ape went t the Tigress and destroyed their water supplies. Venturing into the jungle, Conan was put to sleep by the scent of the Black Lotus, which sent him into a revery revealing him the ancient times of the city, the degeneration of the winged race that inhabited it, until only one of the winged creatures remained. The creature later turned fifty warriors of prehistoric Stygia into hyeanas. WHen Conan awoke, he called for M'Gora and, confronted to his comrad's newfound madness, was forced to kill him. He then returned to the Tigress and found the Corsairs dead and Bêlit hanged to the yard-arm with one jewel she had found. Conan arranged Bêlit's body, then faced the hyrena-transformed corsair. Facing the Winged One, Conan was unable to have the upper hand, but was saved by an apparition who wounded the monster, allowing Conan to rise and slay it. Once the deed done, Conan returned to the coast with the Tigress, which he used as a funeral pyre for Bêlit, staring at the burning ship and the end of the Black Queen and of the three years and a half of his romance with her. Kush and the Black Kingdoms War-chief of the Bamula ... ... ... ... ... Adventuring solo ... ... ... ... Shem Buryat ... ... ... ... Road to Akkharia ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Vonndhar (Earth-616)... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Akkharian army ... Back to Cimmeria ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Khoraja Conan then re-entered mercenary service for the western nations. He eventually became a captain under the command of Malthom, the Nemedian, though he was the most turbulent of his men. Their goup was hired by Yasmela, queen-regent of the little kngdom of Khoraja, to fight her battles. ... ... ... 's recap}} Kozaks Turan About 28 years old, Conan became the leader of the Kozaks. 's recap}} Under his leadership, they raided the frontier of Turan, and allied themselves with the Vilayet Pirates, and together roamed the coast of the Vilayet Sea, attacking the merchant ships of the ports of Turan and Hyrkania. At some point, Conan and the Kozaks participated in a hostage parley by Gort Ghori with Jehungir Agha, Lord of Khawarizm and his counselor Gaznavi, They came along with their Nemedian captive Octavia, whom Conan allegedly looked with desire, who had smiles for him (which she claimed was an order from Jehungir and Ghaznavi). As King Yezdiged of Turan urged Jehungir Agha to finally destroy Conan and the Kozaks, Jehungir Agha set a trap, evading this way the options of being cut off and destoyed in a chase in the steppes, or else having the Kozaks elude him and burn the city in his absence. He intended to use Octavia during a parlay between Turanians and Kozaks: He would sent a messenger to Conan under a flag of truce to claim Octavia had dissappeared and that Conan had kidnapped her, then a spy among the Kozaks to drop hint that Octavia had in fact scaped and was hiding on the island of Xapur. That would urge Conan to go alone to seek out the womn he desired. Weeks later, to avoid her fate, Octavia really escaped Jehunghir Agha's dungeon, but inadvertantly ended up on Xapur. Soon after her, Conan himself arrived on the island. Scouting the island, he came upon the city of Dagonia. ... Khosatral Khel defeated, and the city of Dagonia back to its state of ruins, Conan finally convinced Octavia with a kiss. Three months later, ... Yezdigerd eventually gathered a powerful army and broke the Kozaks during a day-long battle. Iranistan Conan and three hundred Free Companions, including Tubal, and Hattusas, escaped, and rode towards Iranistan. They got lost in the Ilbars in the middle of winter, but were saved by Balash and his tribe, the Kushafi. Balash prevented the Kushafi from massacring the Kozaki, and allowed them to winter in Kushaf. Conan and Balash became sworn friends. They eventually arrived to reaching the city of Anshan in rags and half-starved. There, they joined the service of one of Yezdigerd's greatest rivals, Kobad Shah, the king of Iranistan, who was an enemy of Balash, the Rebel. When Kobad ordered Conan to ride with his army and bring Balash back, dead or alive, Conan refused, thus earning his ire. Kobad Shah consequnetly called in Hakhamani, the Informer, and ordered him to murder Conan while making it look like an accident (to avoid a revolt or departure from the Kozaki). ... ... As the Ghouls overwhelmed them, thet fled Yanaidar, as far as the gates but were bound to remains behind those. As the survivors from all factions stopped to take a rest, Gotarza came to Conan proposing him to settle the matter by single combat. Gotarza also swore that he would tell Kobad of Conan's involvment in the end of the Cult of the Hidden Ones, which could maybe prov his innocence. As Conan was accepting the proposal, the royal messenger bursted to announce the death of Kobad Shah, who died from the poison on the Flame knife that stabbed him. His son King Arshak had removed all charges gainst Conan, urged him to return to service in Anshan, and urged Balash to resume his royal protection of the northern frontier, as Yezdigerd was again sending armies to subdue his neighbors. Conan refused, being sick and tired of the court's intrigues. He offered his Kozaki to return to Anshan or ride with him. The worried Hyrkanians, without families, city, or leaders, were offered by Conan to ride with him, or to remain with Balash, if he agreed to have them. As he realized Nanaia was still in the tower, she revealed herself, having disguised as a Zuagir. Conan, bringing Nanaia with him, rallied the men to return to Kushaf, intending to ride north the next day. ... ... Khauran ... ... Zuagirs At about 30, Conan joined the Zuagirs. 's recap}} 's recap}} 's recap}} 's recap}} 's recap}} At 31, 's recap}} after remaining with them for a year or two, the Zuagirs attacked a religious caravan and looted the idol of the Cat-Goddess. Influenced by the idol, Conan drove the Zuagirs into raids with heavy casualties, until Fazal deposed him and took his place, stealing the idol in the process. Driven by the idol, Fazal attacked a city, with terrible losses. Conan was able to kill him, hurled the idol away in the desert, ... ... far to the south, along the northeastern border of Stygia, near Zamboula. Gladiator in Aquilonia At 32 years old, Conan was a gladiator in the arenas of Aquilonia. In Shamar, along with his paramour and fellow northlands-born she-warrior Jalla, he served among the fighters of the master of combats Ochus in fake to-death combats, dressing as the likes of Picts or wildmen from the Hyperborean Moors to entertained furtherly the audience. Ochus valued Conan's skills. Lady Antiva Brosus of the House of Aquim came to desire Conan. As Conan rejected her advances, she threatened Ochus and had him set the other gladiators to truly kill Conan in the next fight. Dressed as K'Thagha, Lord of the Undead, Conan was revealed the terms of that fight, and slaughtered his opponents, helped by Jalla. As Jalla was killed, Conan climbed from the arena and slayed Antiva. The audience applaused the spectacle, and Conan was let to live. Conan rode for two weeks to the lands o the nortyh to gave a proper funeral to Jalla, on a pyre, then departed in the steppe. Bandit in Turanian desert Conan established himself as the leader a small and highly efficient gang of mercenaries turned outlaw, and harried the desert outpost of the Turanian empire. At about age 32 or 33, he left his companions and went southeast, into Vendhya. Afghuli chief ... At perhaps 34, Conan was the chief of Afghuli tribesmen living in the foothills of the Himelias, and caused serious annoyance to both Vendhyans and Yezdigerd's frontier-breaking Turanians as part of Turan's policy of expansion on the southeastern frontier. ... ... ... At 35 years old, Conan wondered about his aging. ... ... Buccaneer For several years, 's recap}} 's recap}} 's recap}} he was one of the fierce Barachan pirate. At about 37, he joined their rival, the Zingaran buccaneers. Free Companions ... ... Some time after the adventure in Xuchotl, Conan lost Valeria. Possibly a little over 38 ar the time, after hearing about the fabulous Teeth of Gwhlur jewels hidden somewhere in the Black Kingdom of Keshan, he signed up as a trainer of Keshan's armies. Pictish Wars Nearing 40 years old, Conan made the (fateful) choice of joining the as a frontier scout in Conajohara, during the Pictish Wars. ... ... ... Thanks to his deeds, Conan's reputation preceded him, and he rose to the rank of general. At that position, he defeated the Picts at the Battle of Velitrium. Aquilonia conquest ... ... ... ... ... An alternate tale of Conan's rise to power in Aquilonia exists. King Conan of Aquilonia ... ... In the tenth years of his reign, Conan led his army against Minas-H'Rath, the tower of the Brotherood of the Spider who plotted against him in his own home, sending assassins in the royal bedroom. Conan intended to take down the inner circle, and with it the whole Brotherhood. At the same moment, the priests were preparing the summoning of their god B'eethra. ... After Zenobia gave birth to their third child, a daughter, Radegund, she fell seriously ill. During the many months of recovery, Conan spent as much as his duties enabled him, and neglected his twelve years old son Conn. As Zenobia recovered, Conan went on a few weeks of camping and hunting to renew the his closeness to Conn. ... Conan witnessed Pohiola burning to nothing, then returned to Tarantia. In his efforts to secure the vacant throne of Zingara for himself, Pantho, Duke of Guarralid, conquered the western reaches of Argos, then sent his armies into Poitain, possibly to secure his rear before attacking Kordava. Conan reacted by assaulting Pantho's armies, and killed Pantho in pursuit. In order to set a puppet leader over the throne to put an end to the dynastic unrest, he drove his armies deeper into Zingara. He also believed, knowing Pantho of old, that his crazy tentative was possibly influenced by sorcery. As night fell, Conan was joined by the Ligurean Diviatix, chief priest of Pictland, who came from the great grove of Nuadwyoddon to hand Conan, on the orders of the Lord of the Great Abyss Nuadens Argatlam of the Silver Hand (allegedly responsible for bringing Conan out of Cimmeria to crush evil in the world's west) a small stone tablet. ... ... ... Soon after, Zenobia died bearing their fourth child. Abdication Several years after the death of his wife, Conan abdicated in favor of his son Conn and went on to the Western Ocean, to the western mainland of Mayapan, perhaps his last travel. ... / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} Travel westwards Antillia and Ptahuacan Three days out from the Barachan Isles, the Red Lion were attacked by a black Kraken. Two sailors were killed by the Kraken, but Conan battled the monster underwater and blinded it, allowing him and his crew to flee. / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} Later, the Red Lion crossed path with a green dragon-prowned ship with black sails, and with a Black Kraken painted on her bow, the emblem of the old Witch Kings of Atlantis. Unable to see any sailors on the ship that flew away, Conan had his crew pursue it. As the mysterious ship gave up the chase but no one showed up on the deck, Conan ordered a volley of arrows then, facing no response, a second volley of flaming arrows by Yakov and his men. A sorcere eventually appeared. Using illusions, summoning the Red Shadows, deflecting arrows with hand gestures, the sorcerer finally armored up and multiplied to repel the boarding. As Conan slew the real wizard, the copies vanished. Conan, Goram Singh and a few men searched the ship. Conan witnessed the ghost of the sorcerer trying to flee with an Orichalcum casket. The ghost fell overboard, but Conan was forced to flee as the ship's hold was empty and the deck was going awash. Unlocking the casket, Conan and Sigurd found a map describing Pictland, and west of it, the seven isles of Antillia, and another continent westwards of those. Though not believing the legends of gold-bricked walls and silver-paved streets, Conan decided to set sail towards the isles. As some sailors started to rebel against Conan's quest, fearing that the edge of the world was a pool of sunset fire, Conan reaffirmed his authority both by mentioning the treasures ahead of them, andby threatening those who would dissent. Eventually, the Red Lion approached the isles, but were attacked by a Dragon-Ship, whom the crew initially believed to be a dragon. They destroyed the first dragon-ship but another one attacked them from the other side and boarded the Red Lion. As the figt was lost, Conan fled, taking a helmet from an assaillant he slew, which allowe him to breath underwater. The rest of the crew was captured. At night, Conan infiltrated the Antillian city, Ptahuacan, and went into a quarter where Catlaxoc (among other inviting ladies) offered him super, cover and bed with their company. He spent a few days at Catlaxoc, who told him about the legend of "the River of Night", a terrible ocean stream going forever toward the place of the sun's setting. Finally rested, Conan left Catlaxoc's house to explore the city. There, he followed a large cloaked figure, hypothesizing about him being a priest or a warlock. He stuck him down and stole his cloak, using it to walk in plain sight. Witnessing a thief, Itzra, and had him take him to Metemphoc, the King of thieves and leader of the Thief-Brotherhood of Ptahuacan. Explaining him his quest, Metemphoc had Conan go through a test, involving a fight with an mechanically-animated idol above a river of lava. As Conan passed the test, Metemphoc welcomed Conan into the Thief-Brotherhood of Ptahuacan and accepted to help him. During his stay, Conan was told by Metemphoc of the origin of Antillia, founded by priests of Xotli and their slaves that came from sunking Atlantis on flying ships powered by the mysterious force known as the Vril (which secret was lost, causing the creation of the dragon-sips, non-flying copies the original ships). The pAtlanteans landed on that land, and subdued its brown skinned natives, then ruled over the people by telling them it was the only land above water. Metemphoc also told him about the vast continent of Mayapan and of the barbarous states founded by renegades from Atlantis and Antillia. He called him Kukulcan, though Conan ignored if it was a title, or a corruption of "Conan of Cimmeria". A few days later, Conan grew impatient of Metemphoc fulfilling his promise to find out whether Sigurd and his men were still alive. Metemphoc revealed that they were still alive, held in a dungeon below the Anteroom of the Gods, a citadel on the edge of the Square of the Great Pyramid. ... Xotli appeared atthe top of the Pyramid, mentally freezing Conan with his tentacles of mental force penetrating. Conan heared again the voice of Epimetreus, who instructed him to crush the talisman he had given him, thus summoning Mitra, Lord of Light, who battled Xotli, allowing Sigurd and a crewman to rescue Conan. The struggle caused the Cavern of Dragons to collapse, causing the dead of hundreds of Antillian soldiers. The goldly battle escalated, with catastrophic effects on the city caused by Xotli's lashing out his tentacles as it was defeated by Mitra. As the city was in ruins, Metemphoc had his people search the houses to slay all priests of Xotli and soldiers, and establishing himself as the new ruler. Conan decided to flee, presuming that Metemphoc would turn on them, especially on himself, as Conan had been a king himself. Conan then decided to set sail to Mayapan, thinking of what Metemphoc told him about barbarian states there, and the fact he caled him "Kukulcan", Conan hypothesized that the natives from Mayapan never seen bearded men with weapons of steel and class, and it would be possible to carve a new empire there. Na'at and Zothique On the way, Sigurd informed Conan that sailors encouraged by Yakov the head archer and Milo, the Messantian, were growing fearful and discontent of the quest. A moment later, Yakov came to Conan to plead for a return to Argos (and sailing to Antillia for supplies to complete the trip). Conan rejected the demand, and Yakov shot an arrow at him. Thanks to those loyal to Conan, including Yasunga who prevented Milo from attacking Conan in the back, the mutiny was halted before it began and the mutineers renewed loyalty just as the ship approached a storm. During the storm, Yasunga saved a young sailor from being thrown overboard, but fell himself in his place. Conan was about to go and rescue him but was stopped by Sigurd who reminded Conan of his duties of captain. When the storm ended after two days, there was still no land visible, and no wind to go further, yet the ship advanced, as they had stopped on the the of "the River of Night", the ocean stream of Antillian legend that went forever toward the sunset. Conan ordered his men to row, to reach faster wherever they were led to go by the stream. Tiring out, they waited for two days, before witnessing a strange vessel with funeral purple sails. Conan thought to had seen something, such as human heads bobbing along behind the galley, but told only Sigurg, whom he asked to not say anything to the other sailors. Hours later, thy reach the island of Na'at but their ship was thrown upon the reefs. Conan survived, saved by the walking dead Dalili and was "welcomed" by Vacharn and his sons Wokal and Uldulla, all necromancers. ... Leaving Na'at with his newfound crew of walking dead men, Conan wondered if he would some day be known to the people of the realm he was heading towards as "Conan of Zothique". Nothing has been revealed so far of his adventures, if any, in Zothique. It should be noted that the necromancers of Na'at stated that Mayapan was the name of Zothique used by the people dwelling there, '' though the two places have been described as distinct in other accounts. Mayapan It is said that Conan did visit Mayapan. The Nemedian Chronicles offered little information on the days after his voyage to Mayapan. Death The Nemedian Chronicles also did not mentioned his death. Possible deaths In Valusia, circa 18,500 BC, Kull and his soldiers witnessed an inscription of the story of a mighty warrior, whose totem was the lion, defending his homeland from invaders. The warrior was depicted slaying a king and stealing his crown to rule a mighty land from a throne in a wondrous city, until something slew the king and his followers, and ruled a barren wasteland. Kull rejected it as being his history, noting that his totem was the tiger and not the lion, and that he did not came from a "land of mountains and ice". ''The "Mighty Warrior" could be Conan, although, the end of the warrior, killed while being a king, doesn't fit with the last known adventures of Conan (see notes). ... * ... * ... * ... ... Legacy Conan's family Conn ruled after his father, as King Conan II of Aquilonia. Nemedian Chronicles The adventures of Conan were recounted in the Nemedian Chronicles, presumably written in the Nemedian Academy of Belverus, capital of Nemedia, where the young scribe Nicos Iristides was tasked in recording the exploits of Conan and notably compiled at least part of his encounters with Wraarl the Devourer of Souls (Nicos helped Conan against the Devourer of Souls in a one of their encounters). Modern Age ... ... Conan's adventures were published into Marvel Comics group' comics, and became part of pop culture. Bruce Banner tried to use those adventures as a role-model for his son, the barbarian hulked-out Skaar. | Personality = Conan followed a rough code of honor throughout his life. Although willing to engage in acts of thievery and mercenary work, he remained loyal to those he genuinely saw as comrades. Conan was an unrepentant womanizer for much of his life, but he remained respectful of women. He was at times shocked by how “civilized” people of his era sold their daughters and treated them like property. Conan was a fiercely proud man, preferring death to surrender. As a young man, Conan would kill a man for insulting him, although by middle-age he had mellowed somewhat to the point that he allowed the poet Reinaldo to vilify him in ballads, partially out of a belief that poets were more powerful than monarchs, and partially out of fondness for the mad poet’s art. As king of Aquilonia, Conan showed genuine love and concern for his subjects. He once boasted that under his rule “no Aquilonian noble dares maltreat the humblest of his subjects.” While Conan was considered a usurper king due to his lack of royal ancestry, he considered himself better than several hereditary monarchs of his era, and mocked their "divine right to rule: "Gleaming shell of an outworn lie; fable of Right divine You gained your crowns by heritage, but Blood was the price of mine. The throne that I won by blood and sweat, by Crom, I will not sell For promise of valleys filled with gold, or threat of the Halls of Hell!" Relationships Mala was his childhood love, and Conan thought her as possibly the woman of his life. At fifteen, seemingly unknowing of the ways of love, he was seduced by Ursla who made his a man. Conan mated or shared romantic interest with Tara Moira, Jenna, Queen Zenoria of Aquiloria (the wife of an alternate version of himself), Naia, Queen Fatima of Zahmahn, Queen Melissandra of Makkalet, Bêlit, Queen Vammatar of Hyperborea. He tried to approach Sonja, who repelled his advances to later, then totally. Though he declared that he had never forced himself on a woman, he once attempted to rape Atali, daughter of Ymir, and was tempted to force himself on Isparina. Religion Conan stated that he worshiped Crom only, whom he regularly invoked. However, he invoked the names of the Cimmerian gods, other Tuatha de Danaan, such as Morrigan, Macha and Nemain, Mannanan Mac lir, Badb, but also "all the gods of the Frozen North", and other gods, such as Mitra (even sometimes invoked as "Holy Mitra") and Ishtar, whom he personally met and helped (despite doubting her godhood). He sometimes invoked Ymir's, Bel's and Erlik. Early in his career, Conan was told by the priest of Mitra Ixastophanis to learn and speak the names of other deities than the northern gods, to flatter them, that they might welcome the attention if they truly exist, and no harm done if they didn't. Still, short after that time, he sometimes disdained other people's invocations of Mitra (despite his later frequent invocations of his name) but later confessed that he would light a candle to Mitra if he was able to slay a monster by the blade alone, and of Tarim (as well as his idols), but was admirative when Fafnir's invocations of Ymir, Bragi and the Gods of the North seemingly accomplished a feat of great strength. He soon learned to be wary about offending gods, and declared that he feared all the gods (but not their statues or idols). At 30, he was known as a man who didn't mock the gods, especially those unknown to him. | Powers = *''' Inhuman Strength:' Conan possessed strength way over the hardiest of his race. Conan was physically one of the most powerful humans who leever lived, considered as having the strength of ten to twenty men. *'Peak Human Durability:' Conan's great physical size, musculature and mental toughness is considered to have the ability to withstand injury superior to those of ordinary humans. His skeleton (or at least his skull) was seemingly more resistant than the norm: he was simply knocked out when falling on the head in a ravine, when others' would had been split open. ** He was also more resistant to poison, ending up a "living corpse" instead of dead after ingesting juice of the Purple Lotus which should had killed an ordinary man, or two. Similarly, Conan considered that there was ''"no such thing as too much to drink", and awakened every morning with a clear head. *'Peak Human Endurance:' Conan could stay awake for days as well as exert himself for a considerable amount of time without rest before showing any signs of fatigue. *'Preternatural Speed and Agility:' Conan possessed considerably greater speed and agility than a man of his size should have; his speed and agility were often compared to that of a jungle cat. *'Enhanced Senses:' Conan was born and raised in the dark grey hills of Cimmeria, and spent much time outdoors-as both a necessity and as a form of leisure; as such, he developed senses of vision, smell (he could sometimes smell Purple Lotus drug in wine), and hearing that were several times more acute than those of a "civilized" human. | Abilities = *'Wilderness Instinct:' Having been raised as a barbarian, Conan had time from birth to nurture a survival instinct lost to most other humans. This very instinct had saved his life on many occasions, making him an even more formidable warrior. *'Master Warrior:' Conan was a highly formidable armed and unarmed combatant. He had been trained to use most weapons available to his time with great ability. His skill, brutality and intensity was unsurpassed and he had been shown to kill highly skilled and armed opponents by the score, whether armed or bare-handed. Conan possessed skills at arms way over the hardiest of his race. He learned the use of a bow while in Hyrkania. *'Master Athlete:' In addition to his raw strength, Conan was trained and experienced in a variety of athletic fields, including swimming, mountaineering, and horseback riding. Conan frequently performed feats that other men considered impossible, such a small scaling nearly-sheer cliff faces. *'Master Tactician and Strategist:' Conan was a born leader and commander of men. His vast experiences in battle gave him considerable tactical and strategic knowledge. *'Multi-Lingual:' Conan was exceptionally intelligent and able to speak, read and write multiple modern and ancient languages: enough Hyperborean to be understood, ZIngaran (which he could read), Ophirean, Pictish, though he wasn't fluent, Stygian, Shemite (or Shem) (including some of its offshoots), Pelishtic, (he could even decipher a few informations from a scroll in archaic Pelishtic), pretty bad Hyrkanian (including Hyrkanian dialects) and "never too good" Zamorian. He stated he had mastered Amazon, he seemingly master the tongue of Darfar, and was able to talk with someone who spoke in a tongue similar on the Seventh Isle of Doom. He also was familiar with a some Kushite dialects, though not all. He spoke Khitan. He learned the language of Antillia. / , Part I: Red Shadows and Black Kraken!}} He also recognized accents and intonations in other languages. He knew to read Thelic. *'Master of Stealth:' As he was raised in a wilderness environment, Conan possessed sufficient stealth to surprise forest animals. This was further honed during Conan's career as a thief. He was also able to move with little noise. | Strength = Conan possessed strength way over the hardiest of his race. Conan was stated and had demonstrated, on several occasions, that his physical strength was above the finest human (Hyborian Age) athletes. Strength Scale# Superhuman Conan was physically one of the strongest humans who ever lived; as demonstrated by overpowering the physically bigger strangler Baal-Pteor, and breaking the neck of a wild Cimmerian bull when he was only a teenager. Conan consistently demonstrated feats of power in his strikes, such as easily breaking the bones of humans and beasts alike. Additionally, Conan could crush bone with his grip strength alone, as demonstrated on numerous occasions. Conan was stated to have the strength of ten to twenty men. | Weaknesses = | Equipment = Whatever the situation called for at the time. | Transportation = Conan generally traveled on horseback. | Weapons = A wide variety of bladed weapons, though he usually preferred a two-handed Broadsword. For a time, he wielded the War-Chief's Spear of the Bamulas. | Notes = Creation and licensing * Conan was created by Robert E. Howard and later licensed by Marvel Comics, but was under license to Dark Horse Comics from 2000-2018. Marvel introduced a number of unique characters through the Conan books over which it remains in full control. Similarly, a number of characters central to the Conan story (such as his patron god, Crom), have sporadic but important roles in the early history of Marvel's Earth-616. ** Conan is the licensed property of Paradox Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliated company, Conan Properties International LLC. ** While Conan as a character is still claimed to be protected under copyright and owned by various companies, most of the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard (d. 1936) were published over 80 years ago and are considered to have passed into the public domain. Several of them are available to read online at websites such as Project Gutenberg and Wikisource, which cover public domain works. However, Howard stories which were published posthumously are probably still under copyright. In the case of several incomplete or unpublished Howard stories which were completed, edited, or otherwise modified by other writers, following his death and prior to their original publication, they are all still under copyright and will continue to be so for several decades. ** Conan the Barbarian returned to Marvel Comics in January 2019. * Conan's actual first appearance in any media is the short story The Phoenix on the Sword, which was published in Weird Tales magazine during 1932. Writer Robert E. Howard actually based this story on one of his older, unpublished stories starring Kull. This particular story was called By This Axe I Rule! and was written in 1929, but would not be published until 1967. * Conan's debut story The Phoenix on the Sword also introduced the sorcerer Thoth-Amon. In this story, Conan and Thoth-Amon happen to have enemies in common. Thoth-Amon's plot to eliminate his enemies ends up almost killing Conan as well. The two characters did not meet in person, and were mostly unaware of each other's existence. Robert E. Howard included plots and mentions of Thoth-Amon in several other Conan stories, but the sorcerer and Conan never met in person in his works. However, the pastiche writers, who continued writing Conan stories following Howard's death, felt that Thoth-Amon was the closest thing to an archenemy Conan ever had. They greatly expanded Thoth-Amon's role in their stories, and the Marvel Comics writers mostly followed their example. The Earth-616 versions of the two characters had a long-running series of hostile encounters, starting with Conan in his early 20s and ending with a middle-aged Conan who has a grown-up son. * Conan's creator Robert E. Howard intended for his stories to follow Conan's long life and career from early life to old age, but never intended to create or publish the stories in chronological order. The original Conan story The Phoenix on the Sword (1932) introduced Conan as a middle-aged man who had recently claimed the throne of Aquilonia and faced assassination plots. The short story The Scarlet Citadel (1933) and the novel The Hour of the Dragon (1936) also feature King Conan facing efforts to depose him, foreign invasions, and an attempt to restore a long-dead empire. But these are the only stories to follow this example. The rest of the Conan tales by Howard feature a younger or much younger Conan, and jump back and forth in time. The chronological clues are sometimes clear and other times vague, leading to various Conan scholars coming up with contradictory timelines for the events depicted. For example, it is generally agreed that the short story "The Tower of the Elephant (1933), which features a novice Conan who is still new to civilization, takes place very early in Conan's life. Most estimates have him being a teenager in this story, though there are disagreements on whether he is underage or just entering adulthood. Meanwhile the chronological clues in the short story "The Frost-Giant's Daughter" (1932), where Conan faces a daughter of Ymir in the far north of the Hyborian world, are vague to non-existent. Other Conan scholars have placed this as the chronologically earliest Conan story with Conan barely 15 or 16 years-old, while others argue that it features an experienced Conan who is at least in his 30s. This style of storytelling has influenced the Marvel version of the Conan tales, where stories were also not published in chronological order. Various Marvel writers have attempted to give chronological clues as to where to place their stories in Conan's timeline, while others did not even try and their stories feature no actual clues about their placement. * Following the death of Robert E. Howard in 1936, a large number of writers have written additional Conan short stories and novels. Among them were Björn Nyberg, L. Sprague de Camp, Lin Carter, Andrew J. Offutt, Karl Edward Wagner, Poul Anderson, Robert Jordan, John Maddox Roberts, Steve Perry, Leonard Carpenter, Roland Green, Sean A. Moore, John C. Hocking, Harry Turtledove, Loren L. Coleman, Richard A. Knaak, Jeff Mariotte, and Michael A. Stackpole. Their works form an extended canon of Conan literature, and they have often added their personal vision of the Hyborian world in each book. Marvel Comics has licensed and adapted at least part of these works, and also several of the original characters introduced in them. In some cases, like with Isparana (an Andrew J. Offutt creation), the characters went on to make many more appearances than the mere adaptation of the original novel. * In Marvel Comics, some stories are adaptations of other works of Robert E. Howard, or from other writers, in which the main protagonist is replaced by Conan. The replacement is sometimes homaged in the story: ** In "The Necromancers of Na'at" ( , May, 1996), adapted from Clark Ashton Smith's story "Necromancy in Naat", Yadar was replaced by Conan, but his name was mentioned as an activation word for Vacharn's lamps. Chronology * The current list of Conan literary stories in chronological order starts with the novel Conan of Venarium (2003) and ends with the novel Conan of the Isles (1968). The first features Conan when 14 or 15 years-old and taking part in the Battle of Venarium, the event which Robert E. Howard mentioned as Conan's first battle but never fully depicted. The second features Conan in his 60s, abdicating the throne of Aquilonia in favor of his grown-up son, having one last recorded adventure in the Western Ocean (the Hyborian name for the Atlantic Ocean) and the Antillian Isles, and sailing further west towards the Americas. Marvel Comics has at times depicted events involving the Battle of Venarium in their stories, and flashback tales to Conan's childhood and early teenage years. It has also adapted the "Conan of the Isles" novel and published at least one tale which serves as its sequel, "The Necromancers of Na'at" in (May, 1996). It has Conan losing all his crew but continuing to sail towards the Americas. * In "Song of the Dead", , Kull and his soldiers witness inscription of the story of a mighty warrior whose totem is the lion defending his homeland from invaders, slaying a king and stealing his crown to rule a mighty land from a throne in a wondrous city, until something slew the king and his followers, and ruled a barren wasteland. Kull rejects it as his history, noting that his totem is the tiger and not the lion, and that he doesn't comes from a "land of mountains and ice". The "Mighty Warrior" could be Conan, who fought his homeland invaders (presumably the Aquilonians and Gundermen of Venarium, or possibly the Picts, Hyperboreans or Vanir), slew King Numedides of Aquilonia, stole his crown and ruled Aquilonia from Tarantia. However, the end of the warrior, killed while being a king, doesn't fit with the last known adventures of Conan. | Trivia = * In the first Conan story, "The Phoenix on the Sword", Epemitreus the Sage (a good sorcerer who has been supposedly dead for 1500 years) grants Conan a magical symbol to use against dark magic. It is the symbol of the Phoenix on Conan's sword. Marvel has adapted this story, but it was never clarified if the symbol has any connections to the Phoenix Force. * Conan is probably long dead, but the circumstances of his death have never been depicted. Lin Carter did write a narrative poem called "Death-Song of Conan the Cimmerian" (1972) (adapted in ), which has an elderly Conan facing his own mortality and approaching death. But the topic of the poem is Conan contemplating his past life, all the people he has met, all the lessons he has learned, and declaring that he has no regrets, with no actual telling of his death. * When he was part of the Aquilonian Army against the Picts , Conan didn't considered himself to have been the king of a civilized country, despite having been king: ** of Bal-Sagoth (de jure, by taking the emblem of kingship, but the kingdom was destroyed instants later) ** of Attalus in Stygia (by defeating Ptolemy, and only for the time of a battle). ** of Aquiloria, the Earth-8313 version of Aquilonia, by usurping his alternate version, King Konar. ** of the valley, as the scriptures told that the one to defeat the demon Mahgmu was the returned long-lost King Atamu. * While reading a Conan comic, Skaar thought Conan needed a bigger sword. * Jean Grey considered Namor as emitting "underwater Conan the Destroyer" vibes. | Links = * Conan official website * Conan profile at the Conan Wiki * Conan profile at the Dark Horse Database }} Category:Souless Characters Category:Formerly Deceased